Janelle Irwin Taylor
St. Petersburg City Councilmember Darden Rice is launching a television ad Tuesday promoting her campaign for Mayor.
The ad, “Cheers,” emphasizes Rice’s accomplishments over nearly eight years on City Council.
It shows her in a bar serving locals and opens with a reminder that Rice heard from constituents as a young adult bartender at the historic Chattaway restaurant before her days in politics.
“I tended bar to help pay for college. Every day I listened to folks just trying to make ends meet. And back then, all I could do was pour them a beer,” Rice says in the ad. “As St. Pete’s next Mayor, Rice will focus on affordability and continuing to advance a progressive agenda for St. Petersburg.”
In a news release accompanying the ad, the Rice campaign highlighted three specific accomplishments. These include helping to secure $15 million for affordable housing from countywide Penny for Pinellas funds, working to rebuild St. Pete’s economy after the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, and making St. Pete “one of the most welcoming cities in Florida.”
The ad specifically references Rice as a progressive option in the nonpartisan race.
“On City Council, I delivered affordable housing, worked to create a better economy and a more welcoming city. As a progressive Mayor, I’ll focus on making sure all our families can afford to live in St. Pete, and I’ll keep our momentum going,” she said in the ad.
Her use of the term progressive is strategic. While it doesn’t mention party affiliation — something that is banned in St. Pete’s nonpartisan city races — it harkens to her roots as a Democrat pushing for policies most consider progressive. It’s an attempt to differentiate herself from a top-tier Republican in the race, colleague Robert Blackmon, as well as front-runner Ken Welch, a former Pinellas County Commissioner, who is also a Democrat.
Rice’s use of a bar in the ad is also a campaign theme. Rice served as a guest bartender at Enigma, an LGBTQ bar in the Grand Central District near downtown.
She has also been running a grassroots operation, frequently visiting small business establishments throughout the city ranging from artisan bakeries to quaint dog boutiques.
